


Highway to hell

by shipnuggets



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Greek Mythology, Alternate Universe - Historical, Angst with a Happy Ending, Choose Your Own Adventure, Choose Your Own Ending, Eventual Happy Ending, Getting Together, M/M, Mythology - Freeform, Orpheus and Eurydice Myth, Sad with a Happy Ending, post s6e6, voltronbingo2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2018-11-18
Packaged: 2019-08-25 16:33:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16664299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shipnuggets/pseuds/shipnuggets
Summary: After Shiro tells Keith in the astral plane that he died during his fight with Zarkon, Keith starts his journey to the underworld to make a deal with Hades and get Shiro back. Based on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice and it's a choose your own adventure fic!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this fic! It's based on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice and is set after Shiro tells Keith in the astral plane that he died (s6e6). After their conversation, Keith goes to the underworld to get Shiro's soul back and put it in his clone's body. 
> 
> It's a choose your own adventure fic, so at the end of this chapter you can choose between two endings! And me being my evil self, I made the choice pretty hard, so feel free to read both!
> 
> Find me on Tumblr: https://shipnuggets.tumblr.com/

“I died, Keith’

 

The sentence keeps playing over and over again in Keith’s head. Shiro is dead. Has been dead ever since the fight with Zarkon. And all this time, Keith didn’t notice.

 

He should’ve noticed he was dealing with a clone and not Shiro. Now that he thinks about it, he just thought Shiro needed his space after returning, but the distance between them should’ve alerted Keith that something was wrong.

 

Shiro is gone and Keith had been stupid enough to believe the lie that he was still alive. He wanted to believe that lie. And now, his whole world came crashing down with those three words.

 

Funny how Shiro only needed three words to flip his life upside down. Keith would’ve preferred the cliché “I love you”, but “I died, Keith” also did a damn good job at messing up Keith’s life, probably even better.

 

A thump against his leg pulled Keith from his thoughts. It was Kosmo, who noticed Keith drifting off in his thoughts. Keith leaned down, patting the cosmic wolf on his head.

 

“Thanks buddy. Kind of got distracted there.”

 

That’s when Keith notices. The air smells sulfurous and there’s yellow fog in the corridors, precipitating on the rocks forming the walls. That and the sounds of countless tortured screams alert Keith that they’ve almost reached their destination.

 

During their conversation in the astral plane, Shiro had told Keith that there was a way to bring him back to life. But he also told Keith that no one ever succeeded in what Keith was about to do.

 

But Keith would make sure he’d succeed.

 

Or end up with Shiro in whatever comes after death.

 

A few moments later, they enter a large cave. A ten store apartment able to fit in it. The room is lit by torches scrambled around the place. The first thing Keith notices is the glinstering chain on the ground, with the chains being as big as Kosmo.

 

The three-headed Cerberus appeared to be asleep. Keith decides to sneak past him, towards the only exit on the other side of the cave, knowing there’s no way he could defeat the hound of Hades. Kosmo seemed to understand Keith’s plan.

 

When they almost reached the exit, Keith hears panting behind him. Knowing it probably isn’t Kosmo, Keith turns around slowly, his blade ready. He comes eye to eye, six eyes actually, with Cerberus. In unison, the three heads open their to sulfur smelling mouths to growl at Keith.

 

He manages to ward off the attack of the first head and ducks in time to avoid being bitten by the second head, making use of the distraction from the first head.

 

A few dances of blocking, dodging and attacking later, Keith hasn’t progressed at all yet. He managed to make a few scratches in the creature’s fur, but that’s about it. Suddenly, Keith hears a dull pop and Kosmo appears next to him, looking at Keith expactationally. Keith touches his fur, feels the usual gravitational pull in his stomach that comes with the teleporting, and is suddenly on the other side of the room.

 

After repeating this trick a few times, Keith soon finds out that Cerberus, despite it’s gruesome reputation, has a very bad condition. It only takes a few times of teleporting to get the three heads panting loudly in exhaustion.

 

Eventually, Cerberus is exhausted from running around the room, collapses and immediately falls asleep, allowing Keith and Kosmo to exit the cave and continue their quest.

 

\---

 

“I must admit I’m impressed you managed put my dog to sleep.”

 

The voice of Hades echoes through the throne room, making every single candle in the room flicker.

 

“But how dare you disturb me? Do you think the god of the underworld doesn’t have more important matters to take care of, like his ‘mighty’ brother?”

 

“I’m here to request the soul of Takashi Shirogane. Prematurely fallen by the hand of Zarkon.” Keith can guess what the answer of the god’ll be, but tries it anyways.

 

“Hmm. You wish to bring back the dead?” Hades seems to actually be considering the request, which is more than Keith could’ve hoped for. But why would he? His reputation isn’t exactly in Keith’s favor, to put it mildly.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Do you know there’s a high price to pay for me to even consider granting a wish like that?”

 

“Yes. I’m prepared to take his place.” When he says it, Keith hears a tortured, desperate scream from somewhere deep into the cave system, which sounds an awful lot like Shiro’s voice.

 

“I won’t let you get off that easy. That wolf of yours is the reason you put Cerberus to sleep right?”

 

Unfortunately, Keith has to answer “Yes.” He doesn’t like where this is going at all.

 

“I’m very curious about the reason.”

 

Keith doesn’t want to give away too much info on that matter, afraid Hades would want Kosmo instead of Keith.

 

“He’s a very talented fighter, lord. We managed to exhaust the creature by keeping it occupied.”

 

“Are you sure that’s all there is to it boy? I get the feeling there’s more than you’re telling me.”

 

Keith keeps on telling the lie, not wanting to expose Kosmo’s power. But he can see that Hades is not buying it.

 

Suddenly, Hades snaps his fingers. In the corner of his eye, Keith notices a dozen of bony creatures approaching him fast. He’s pinned to the ground by the sight of it. They don’t seem death, but not alive either. Like they’re on the edge, in the process of rotting away. When they almost reach him, their hands sticking out to him and trying to grab him, a dull plop is the only warning he gets before he’s on the other side of the room.

 

“Interesting… Very interesting.”

 

Keith doesn’t like the sound of that. At all. Hades must’ve known Kosmo would save Keith. But Keith doesn’t plan on giving up on Shiro or Kosmo.

 

“I’ll let you leave this place, alive, with the soul of your lover, on two conditions.”

 

“He’s..He’s not my lover.”

 

“I don’t tell lies boy. The first condition is that you have to take his soul out of here without looking at him. If you do, I’ll take him back. The second condition is that you leave the wolf behind.”

 

**And now you have to choose for Keith. You decide if he takes the offer or not. Does he leave with Shiro, or with Kosmo?**

 

**Option 1: Agree with the deal and take Shiro with you, and leave Kosmo behind with Hades > Go to chapter 2.**

 

 **Option 2: Don't agree and leave with Kosmo, and leave Shiro behind with Hades > Go to chapter 3.** 


	2. Agree with the deal and take Shiro with you

And that’s how Keith ends up walking through the corridors, leaving hell, with Shiro’s soul behind him and one living being fewer than a few hours before. He knows Hades is too interested in Kosmo to kill him, but who knows what might happen to him. Leaving Kosmo behind hurts Keith more than the likes to admit. 

 

If this had happened a few years ago, Keith wouldn’t have gotten this attached to the space wolf. But recently, something about himself changed. Damn, he’s even waiting for how long already for the wolf to tell Keith his real name. In the past, Keith would’ve never been this patient. He guesses Shiro’s “Patience yields focus” mantra really did stay with him. 

 

The hurt of losing Kosmo makes him want to shut himself off from everyone, but Shiro’s presence, his soul at least, holds him back. Keith fights back the urge to look at Shiro, knowing he’ll lose him for the umpteenth time. Keith’s not sure he could survive losing both Kosmo ánd Shiro on the same day.

 

Thinking about losing Shiro leads Keith to think about what Hades said earlier. How can Shiro be Keith’s lover if he didn’t even know it himself. Sure, Keith would notice if they were dating right? It’s not like anything ever happened between them, because Keith would never miss that, loving Shiro ever since said man crashed on earth. The Garrison lied that he died on the Kerberos mission, and Keith had grieved. Boy did he grief. It even got him expelled from the Garrison. Finding out Shiro was still alive after all, made Keith realise his true feelings towards him.

 

And now he found out he’d lost him again. 

 

For real this time. And he didn’t even know. 

 

But he’s going to get Shiro out of here. No matter the cost. Keith would sacrifice everything for this man, apparently even Kosmo. 

 

Still, Keith is puzzled by the statement of Hades that Shiro’s his lover. He did say he wasn’t lying, but Keith’s not sure if he can trust Hades. Because that would mean Shiro loves him back.

 

Wait.

 

What if Shiro loves him back!?

 

Keith lost him so many times now. If there’s a possibility of Shiro liking him back, shouldn’t he just take a chance? 

 

As he spins around towards Shiro, Keith realises what he’s doing.

 

His eyes widen as his eyes lock with Shiro’s, whose mouth falls open in a silent scream, as an invisible force starts pulling him back through the corridors.

 

Keith runs after him and tries to grab his hand, but his hand goes straight through Shiro’s. 

 

Shit.

 

SHIT.

 

Keith keeps running after Shiro, looking in his eyes and calling out for him. His stupid brain can’t think of a way to keep Shiro here, not when he can’t even touch him.

 

But wait.

 

Didn’t Shiro tell him he existed in black’s mind? Maybe he can connect to Shiro through her mind. So he closed his eyes, focuses and tries.

 

The connection with black is easily established, but finding Shiro’s mind takes a while. When he does, he reaches out. Calls out to him to resist. 

 

The sound of a crash makes Keith open his eyes. Did it work?

 

Keith’s heart skips a beat when he sees shiro’s soul in front of him, not being pulled away anymore. He almost wants to thank black when he notices the blue wolf next to Shiro. 

 

It’s tail wags before Keith exclaims his name and crouches down to pull the wolf into a hug. His eyes start to water and he buries his face in the soft fur to hide it. 

 

An airy chuckle makes Keith realise that he’s gotten both Kosmo and Shiro back. He looks up, towards Shiro.

 

The contented expression on his face reminds Keith of his earlier realisation that Shiro might love him back.

 

He buries his face in Kosmo’s fur for a few more minutes, before looking back at Shiro.

 

“I love you Shiro.”

 

He feels something tickle on his cheek. When he reaches out, he notices it’s water. He must be crying without even realising it.

 

“I love you too Keith. God, I wish I could touch you right now”

 

“Shiro. You’ll be able to very soon. Let’s get out of here first and then we’ll take you home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first choose your own adventure fic, so let me know what you think!
> 
> Find me on Tumblr: https://shipnuggets.tumblr.com/


	3. Don't agree and leave with Kosmo

And that’s how Keith ends up walking through the corridors, leaving hell, with Kosmo next to him. Shiro still trapped in the kingdom of Hades. 

 

His whole life, ever since his father died, Keith tried not to get accustomed to places, people or animals. He knew everything could end at any moment and tried to protect himself. 

 

But when Shiro entered his life, his protective walls began to crumble. Slowly, Shiro managed to settle in Keith’s heart, a spot forever reserved only for him. And that spot is what brought Keith to the underworld to save him. Keith had alway regarded it as a weakness for someone who feels like a brother, but why would Hades call Shiro Keith’s lover when he clearly wasn’t? Not that it matters anyway, since Shiro’s trapped in here and Keith has to leave without him. 

 

With every step he takes towards the exit, he takes a step away from Shiro and feels the pain in his heart increasing. This is why I shouldn’t have let my guard down, he thinks to himself. It only brings misery. 

 

The sunlight throwing shadows on the walls and floor of the corridor alerts Keith that they’ve almost reached the end of the tunnel. Keith notices his pace quickening unwittingly, hoping he’ll make it out of this place alive, which alone would be very generous of Hades. Keith still doesn’t trust the fact that the god just let Keith and Kosmo leave when he declined the deal offered by the god.

 

Finally, Keith can spot the exit of the cave at the end of the corridor. And that’s when he sees the exit slowly starting to collapse, the rocks blocking the way out, and hears fierce and loud barks in the distance, which must be Cerberus’. 

 

A duff plop warns Keith that Kosmo just teleported. Keith wonders what the wolf is up to? He knows Kosmo wouldn’t just leave him behind. Keith thinks of the only thing he can do and calls out to the black lion with his mind. After a few fruitless moments, Keith is about to give up when he hears the plop again, announcing the arrival of Kosmo. 

 

When Keith turns around, totally planning to scold Kosmo, he’s astonished by what he sees. A ghost is standing, no floating, in front of him. And said ghost looks a damn lot like Shiro, his Shiro.

 

Keith knows he’s supposed to say something, but he can’t help his mouth opening and closing again like a fish. 

 

“S..Shiro” Keith manages to say somehow.

 

When Shiro opens his mouth, Keith is not sure about what he expected from a soul, because he guesses that’s what Shiro is right? But he certainly didn’t expect to hear Shiro’s soul talk. It doesn’t sound like a voice, but also not like a whisper. It sounds like the wind talking. 

 

When Shiro says his name, Keith notices that the sound produced by the soul does somewhat resemble Shiro’s human voice. 

 

“You found me, Keith.”

 

“Glad you’re back Shiro.”

 

“Keith… I-I had a lot of time to think being… well.. dead. And now that I have the chance, I just wanted to say that I love you too.”

 

Keith’s heart stops. The look in Shiro’s eyes is as soft as he’s ever seen them, softer even than the way he used to look at Adam. Shiro, his best friend, loves him. But in what way? When Keith said it, he had meant he loved Shiro as a brother, but he thinks Shiro means more than that. 

 

In his head, Keith thinks about Hades saying Shiro is his lover and everything finally fits together. 

 

He loves Shiro. 

 

He launches forwards, planning to tackle Shiro into a hug, and maybe a kiss if he dares, but is quickly reminded that he’s dealing with Shiro’s soul when he stumbles right through him and slams into the wall. 

 

The wall crumbles. I’m not that heavy I hope, thinks Keith to himself just when the wall collapses fully and he’s met with the sight of black. 

 

Barking close to where they are reminds Keith of the situation they’re dealing with and he turns to Shiro. 

 

“Let’s get you to your clone’s body Shiro. And then we can finally go home, together.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first choose your own adventure fic, so let me know what you think!

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr: https://shipnuggets.tumblr.com/


End file.
